I hope that all of you are doing well during this difficult time. This is a great challenge for all of us but I am proud to say that all MES Pillai Group faculty and students have been contributing to the nation in many ways in the past month. I just wanted to give an update on the various activities undertaken by MES institutions to tackle and make the most of the current situation with Covid-19. Here is a summary of the different initiatives.

Academic
1. Many of our faculty have transitioned and are conducting regular courses as well as expert sessions over the internet using Zoom and Google Meet. If you use your MES email ids students and faculty can conduct meetings of more than 45 mins with over 300 participants on Zoom. I highly encourage all faculty to reach out to students over these platforms if you have not already done so.

2. MES has tied up with Coursera to complete unlimited free certifications of Coursera courses upto September 2020. Students can take courses from some of the best faculty and some of the best Universities in the world. So far over 1000 students have registered for different courses.
Students and faculty are highly encouraged to register and utilize this facility. In case you have not received an invite and want to take courses please register below with your MES ID.https://forms.gle/rVrAmwLuC4ueTgBx5

3. To help students and faculty deal with stress or anxiety, MES counsellor Yvette lee is available for students to speak with. Interested students and faculty may contact her at 9819812019

Social:
MES faculty and students have engaged with the local communities to help with the following activities.
1. MES faculty have used our in house 3D printers and laser cutting facilities for the preparation and distribution of personal face masks for police and people involved in public activities.

2. Distribution of food and edible oil to daily wage earners and adivasis in Wakdi village.

3. Developed a website for Navi Mumbai police for the public to apply for curfew passes.

4. Our students have volunteered for different activities such as food distribution, distribution of PPE, helping elderly get food and medicine in and around Navi Mumbai

5. Set up a scholarship fund for students who will be impacted by Covid-19 so that their studies may continue uninterrupted.

Research and Innovation
1. MES faculty have studied the effect Covid-19 on the Indian economy using nightlights. The work is highlighted in the Bloombergquint Article belowhttps://tinyurl.com/ukuks5p

2. MES faculty are also working on developing a wireless sensor measurement system that can be used to track and predict Covid-19 outbreaks before they happen.

3. Three student groups and one faculty group are working of development of an App to help farmers to reach out to customers of their farm product. This is an initiative of MHRD AICTE to help farmers in this lockdown situation. You can check out their work here

I hope that our faculty and students will continue to work towards building a better India during and after this crisis. We are also interested in the work of our alumni during this period. In case any student or faculty member or alumni have engaged in any other activity that has helped with Covid-19 response please do let me know. MES will provide additional support to these activities whenever possible.